London's Mayor Ken Livingstone has again defended the Muslim scholar Dr Yusuf al-Qaradawi who he says has been the victim of an Israeli smear campaign.

Mr Livingstone rebuffed crtisism of Dr al- Qaradawi on the same day a controversial letter from the man he described as a "moderate" appeared in the Times.

The Mayor was attacked in July 2004 for inviting Dr al-Qaradawi to a London conference.

Gay and lesbian organisations were among those who questioned the move.

Referring to the Asian tsunami disaster Dr al-Qaradawi is quoted in the Times as saying: "People must ask themselves why this earthquake occurred in this area and not others... Whoever examines these areas discovers that they are tourism areas.

"Tourism areas are areas where the forbidden acts are widespread, as well as alcohol consumption, drug use and acts of abomination... Don't they deserve punishment from Allah?"

Mr Livingstone has repeatedly defended Dr al-Qaradawi and did so again when asked about the letter. "As Mayor of London, I have a responsibility to support the rights of all of London's diverse communities and to maintain a dialogue with their political and religious leaders, irrespective of the fact that there will always be different views on many issues," he said.

According to the Mayor Dr Qaradawi is, "the most authoritative Muslim scholar in the world today," and "has been one of the foremost Muslim scholars in combating socially regressive interpretations of Islam on issues like women's rights and relations with other religions."

Mr Livingstone called on journalists and members of the London Assembly who attacked Dr al-Qaradawi to apologise after publishing a report which claims the scholar has been the victim of a coordinated campaign by former members of the Israeli intelligence service, Mossad.

But Conservative assembly leader Bob Neill said: "It is the mayor that should be apologising, not us. Dr al-Qaradawi should never have been given a platform at City Hall.

"Now the mayor is making things even worse by giving his backing to this man. His comments, reported in yesterday's Times, sum up the kind of person we are dealing with here. He is no moderate, as the mayor likes to claim."